6th Annual Whole Foods Market New Taste of the Upper West Side

Friday, May 31st, and Saturday June 1st Travel Channel’s Adam Richman to Host Comfort Classics
Top Chef Judge and Food & Wine Special Projects Director Gail Simmons To Host Best of the West Honoring Shake Shack Creators Danny Meyer and Randy Garutti

The 2013 Whole Foods Market New Taste of the Upper West Side is back celebrating its sixth year with top-name chefs, A-list hosts, renowned honorees and more participating restaurants. Created by the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), proceeds from the weekend will continue to benefit the Columbus Avenue BID’s Streetscape Project as well as support the Wellness in its Schools program at the O’Shea School complex and P.S. 87.

“For six years, we’ve championed the amazing community and culinary culture of the Upper West Side. It is always a spectacular event and this year we’re excited to show off the work the BID has done with the proceeds raised from the last five years in transforming the Upper West Side block where our event is held into a new sustainable, beautiful and functional park-like space,” says Barbara Adler, Columbus Avenue BID Executive Director.

The two-night gastronomic extravaganza kicks off on Friday, May 31st, with Comfort Classics. Hosting for a third consecutive year, Travel Channel’s connoisseur of cool Adam Richman will set the stage for over forty of the Upper West Side’s chefs with their soul-satisfying classics and new takes on old favorites. Participants include new spots like Gastronomie 491, Jacobs Pickles and Sugar & Plumm alongside longtime favorites such as Ditch Plains and Magnolia Bakery. It’s a high-energy food-fest buoyed by the rhythm-filled sounds of New York’s mix-master DJ Phresh and an array of magic, mind-reading and comedy by Josh Beckerman, The Foodie Magician, with world class wines and inventive cocktails from Palm Bay International Fine Wine & Spirits.

Saturday night, June 1st, turns up the dial when Best of the West and the VIP Reception presented by First Republic Bank highlight the créme de la créme of the Upper West Side culinary scene. Hosted by Gail Simmons, Top Chef Judge and Food & Wine Special Projects Director, the evening will showcase seasonal fare from 40 of the neighborhood’s most innovative chefs and restaurateurs. World-renowned chefs like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Michael Lomonaco and Marc Murphy will cook up signature dishes from their acclaimed establishments alongside others like The Smith, Café Tallulah, Tavern on the Green, Dovetail and Red Farm. It is a glamorous night of fine cuisine and wine and spirits, guaranteed to tantalize and stimulate the most discerning palates.

Adding to Saturday night’s star power will be a tribute to visionary restaurateur Danny Meyer, founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern, Maialino, Blue Smoke, Shake Shack, etc.) and his colleague, Randy Garutti, CEO of Shake Shack, the worldwide success story that has changed the perception of quick food service forever. It’s a magical night of sophisticated cuisine and delectable cachet held beneath a grand tent with a backdrop provided by Joe Bataglia & The New York Big Band.

For the past six years, proceeds from New Taste of the Upper West Side have gone towards the BID’s ambitious street beautification project and other worthy neighborhood projects that promote sustainability and beatification. This year, their work will be clearly visible. With Shake Shack sponsoring a solar-powered trash receptacle already in place, the BID will soon begin their sustainable revitalization project in front of the O’Shea School complex with new trees, benches, solar in-ground lighting, expanded tree beds and Manhattan’s first ever bioswale.

Adam Richman, the connoisseur of cool, returns to host this high-energy evening for the third consecutive year. Featuring over 40 chefs from Upper West Side institutions to new entities, the evening will showcase unique bites inspired by old time classics along with new takes on time treasured favorites served alongside cocktails, wine and spirits by Southern Food and Wine and music from DJ Fresh.
Best of the West

Saturday June 1st, 2013 VIP, $250 per person 6:00 pm General Admission $135 per person from 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm Under the Grand Tent on Columbus Avenue between W 76th and W 77th Street. Celebrating the Upper West Side’s most extraordinary chefs and restaurants, hosted by Top Chef Judge and Food & Wine Special Projects Director Gail Simmons and honoring restaurateur visionaries and Shake Shack creators Danny Meyer and Randy Garutti, the Best of the West is a culinary lover’s dream. With more than 40 of New York’s premier chefs, wine and spirits, and live music from the 17-piece New York Big Band; this is an event not to be missed. Be sure to order VIP tickets if you’d like to mingle with some of the culinary stars.

Tickets for this annual celebrity chef-studded event, taking place Friday, May 31st, and Saturday, June 1st, go on sale Monday, March 4th. Please visit www.newtasteuws.com and for more information or call 212-721-5048

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